Mende Sowei Helmet Mask

This expertly carved Sowei helmet mask from the Mende people of Sierra Leone displays complex combinations of iconographic motifs that are especially popular in eastern Mendeland. This mask display two suspended snakes on both sides of the mask topped with a bowl with two rats underneath, surrounded with four fishes, and two birds facing each other in both sides. The mask also features ngaya maki scarifications on the cheeks and two leather encased amulets in a form of small drums above the forehead and the nape. According to Yale’s archives this mask belongs to workshop Number 9 related to the carver…